“Mamdani seems interested in diverting public attention from his mistakes and attacking the leader of the Jewish State and the only democracy in the Middle East,” responded Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, after he stated that he is considering the possibility of ordering his arrest if the Israeli leader attends the next UN General Assembly in September.
In the same post, he added that “Mamdani should focus on repairing the damage his policies have caused to New York.”
Netanyahu’s response comes after Mamdani indicated that he maintains an “active conversation” with the New York Legal Department to determine if he has the authority to order the Police Department to detain the Israeli prime minister.
“I think Prime Minister Netanyahu’s place is in The Hague,” said the mayor on The Interview, a program by The New York Times.
Mamdani also stated that Netanyahu is a “war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”
The mayor, however, clarified that any eventual decision will be made within the legal margins of the city. “Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that is what we will do,” he affirmed.
According to available background, Mamdani had already proposed during his campaign that he would order the Police Department to enforce arrest warrants against leaders wanted by the International Criminal Court, including Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu in 2024 for accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Israeli offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attack carried out by Hamas.
The Israeli prime minister’s office rejected that warrant, calling it “false” and questioned former prosecutor Karim Khan, whom it accused of seeking to “divert attention.”
Netanyahu, who is seeking re-election in Israel, had previously referred to the possibility of arrest during a radio interview. On that occasion, he said he was not worried and accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas.
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